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When the Weilmoringle Public School swim team trains, it has to travel more than 200 kilometres to the nearest pool.
So it's much easier to use the Culgoa River that flows through town.
"Muddy and sticks and all," is how student Kaydence Samuels describes it.
Weilmoringle is a remote community of 72 about 130 kilometres north-east of Bourke in north-western New South Wales.
The primary school, one of the two major buildings in town, has five students — four of them make up the swim team (the fifth is still learning to swim).
Despite the distance from a pool, all four qualified for the state public school swimming championships in Sydney on Thursday and Friday.
The quad squad of Kaydence, D'Mitri Samuels, Tyne Brown and Jamarh Hart travelled 650 kilometres to get to the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre for their relay race, first taking a bus to Dubbo then a flight to the big smoke.
Principal Robyn Watson says swimming at a large venue is a big opportunity for her students and relatives, many also making the trip to Sydney.
"It's a very very exciting event for the students and for the whole community here," Ms Watson said.
But just a week out from the event, a cruel twist threatened to keep the team from the water.
Fighting the current
There's no formal swim routine in the river but its natural challenges give the team something to work with, Ms Watson says.
"They swim against the current, so that gives them the strength," Ms Watson said.
Sometimes the river doesn't flow and they head to a water hole for weekend swim training.
"We have 35 water holes between here and Bourke, so they head down to one of the big water holes and go for it," Ms Watson.
The team would have liked some last-minute extra sessions in the nearest pool at Brewarrina, but it only opens between October and the end of March.
Late injury threatens
Just a week out from the swim meet, Ryne came off his bike and broke his wrist.
Ms Watson says there were tears around the community. She phoned the school director in Tamworth to break the devastating news.
They stuck with the plan for the whole team to travel to Sydney and see the swimming centre as the flights were booked.
As luck would have it, the Public School Swimming Association was able to recruit a substitute from another school in the region to fill in as the fourth swimmer.
Thanks to the late substitution, the Weilmoringle team are able to compete in the small schools relay.
"From such a disappointment, it's turned into a win-win situation for us all," Ms Watson said.
Support that could be heard underwater
More than 20 people from Weilmoringle travelled to support the relay team, a turnout close to a third of the community's population.
There are 1500 students competing, but screams of "go Weil!" filled the aquatic centre for their race on Friday.
After the race Kaydence says she could hear the crowd cheering them on.
"Lots of voices in the water. I heard them too," Kaydence said.
They finished in a respectable sixth place.
Asked if she was proud of their effort, Ms Watson couldn't have been more ecstatic.
"Am I proud of their effort? I'm beside myself!" Ms Watson said.
"I can hardly talk with excitement from screaming 'Go Weil!'.
"It's just been so wonderful."